Greener Electronics

Every year, hundreds of thousands of old computers and mobile phones are dumped in landfills or burned in smelters. Thousands more are exported, often illegally, from the Europe, US, Japan and other industrialised countries, to Asia. There, workers at scrap yards, some of whom are children, are exposed to a cocktail of toxic chemicals and poisons.

A Chinese child sits amongst a pile of wires and e-waste. Children can often be found dismantling e-waste containing many hazardous chemicals known to be potentially very damaging to children's health.

The rate at which these mountains of obsolete electronic products are growing will reach crisis proportions unless electronics corporations that profit from making and selling these devices face up to their responsibilities.

It is possible to make clean, durable products that can be upgraded, recycled, or disposed of safely and don't end up as hazardous waste in someone's backyard.

The latest updates

It's predicted we will buy 2.5 billion mobiles, computers and tablets in 2014 and there will soon be more Internet connected devices than people on the planet. As the number of gadgets we own explodes, how they are made, used and...

Today, more and more people around the world rely on laptops, phones and tablets as an essential part of their everyday lives. However, the rate at which they purchase and discard these devices is having a serious impact on our planet.

Every day, you rely on your computer, mobile phone, or tablet to be more productive, or just to have fun. Gadgets can make our lives better, but the rate at which we collectively purchase and discard them is having a serious impact on...

When we started our campaign to tackle the global e-waste crisis in 2005 we went to India to document the terrible environmental and health effects of toxic e-waste being dumped across Asia and Africa . Just 6 years later we have...

Our gadget-obsessed lifestyles mean that we often throw away electronic devices when we're finished with them. Ever wondered what happens to your old TV, even if you’ve done the right thing, and dropped it off at a recycling facility...